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WASHINGTON 

HIS PERSONALITY 



PRICE, 25 CENTS 



The Masonic Fair and Exposition 
Wasliington, D. C. - - April, 1002 



■ '■ ^ ^-.- ' ^j^ ! J. »i 




30b 




HOLDON'S LIFE CAST-PROFILE 



307 



WASHINGTON -ip^ 



HIS PERSONALITY 



BEING A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ONLY LIFE CAST 
EVER MADE OF THE FEATURES OF GEORGE WASHING- 
TON, MODELED BY JEAN ANTOINE HOUDON 
AT MOUNT VERNON IN 1785, WITH A PEN 
SKETCH OF THE FAMOUS SCULPTOR 



Price - - - 25 Cents 



THE MASONIC FAIR AND EXPOSITION 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

APRIL, 1902 



^3 Ik 



' The immortal Washington, himself a Free Mason, 
devoted his hand, his heart, his sacred honor, and, 
if need be, his life also, to the cause of freedom of 
conscience, of speech, and of action, and from his 
successful leading has arisen this Nation." 

—Myron M. Parker, P. G- M., Washington, D. C. 



By TraiJEio-r 

MOV 22 1919 




WASHINGTON. 

" Virginia gave us this imperial man, 
Cast in the massive mold 
Of those high-statured ages old 
Which into grander forms our mortal metal ran: 
She gave us this unblemished gentleman — 
What shall we give her back but love and praise? 

— Lowell. 

TURNING the pages of history, and referring to the 
records of illustrious men, we find that the name 
of Washington stands near the head, if not first, in 
the immortal list. 

From childhood to old age, nearly every day of his 
life is well known. His diary reveals with wonderful 
accuracy and precision his thoughts, actions and history. 
He possessed, in a remarkable degree, all the qualities 
of a noble manhood. The results of his wisdom, 
patriotism and sublime courage are greater than those 
of the life or labor any man of which we have any 
knowledge in either ancient or modern times. Witness 
this great Republic with its seventy-five millions of 
people — the freest, the richest, most intelligent and 
happiest country in the world. 

Even as a child and a youth the life of Washington 
is not without interest to his countr>'men. The in- 
fluence and teachings of his mother had a great deal to 



do with the formation of his character and the princi- 
ples which, at an early period of his life, controlled his 
actions in later years. In early manhood the tendency 
of his life was in the direction of the military. The 
superior traits which Washington exhibited in his 
unexampled career were undoubtedly due in a great 
measure to his mother. 

He began as a pioneer appointed by the Governor of 
Virginia in the year 1754. He penetrated the country 
to the head waters and tributaries of the Ohio river and 
passed down that beautiful stream, the banks of which 
at that time were inhabited by Indians. Landing near 
the mouth of the Great Kanawha river he made his 
way directly east through the wilds of what is now 
West Virginia, over the mountains to his Virginia 
home. 

In 1755 he met the Colonial officers at Alexandria, 
Va., and received his commission as colonel with orders 
to report to the English commander. General Braddock, 
near Fort Duquesne. He reached the headquarters of 
the Colonial troops shortly before the battle in which 
General Braddock was killed and his army defeated by a 
superior force of French and Indians. In vain did 
Washington plead with General Braddock to change his 
strategy, tactics and plans for battle, but to no purpose. 
After the defeat of the Colonial army, Washington took 
charge and directed its retreat. It was here that he 
manifested that military genius which showed so bril- 
liantly in the War of the Revolution, which was a 



;rr?i 



seven years' struggle against the greatest and the 
strongest power in the world. 

We are now far enough away from the war for Inde- 
pendence to be able to form a correct judgment as to 
the manner in which it was conducted and the results 
which were obtained. Reviewing the lives of the 
famous men who took important parts in the War of 
the Revolution, we may safely assume that Washington 
was the only man who could have conducted the war 
to a victorious conclusion. However this may be, we 
surely know now that the wisdom and generalship of 
Washington, as Commander-in-Chief of the American 
army, caused the surrender of two great armies of Eng- 
land, which, in two conflicts, laid down over seventeen 
thousand stand of arms and left the country. And it 
may be stated here that no English army ever surren- 
dered or laid down its arms to any foe but George Wash- 
ington. 

Washington was a successful military chief and was 
no less distinguished in civil life. There may have 
been great generals, whose genius may be compared 
with that of Washington, but there is no ruler, emperor, 
king or potentate who can compare with him as a 
successful ruler and leader of men ; in this respect he 
stands alone and without a peer. Although an aristo- 
crat by blood and education, he was democratic in 
every sense. His principles concerning the rights of 
men were those of Jefferson. 

The principles, usages, precepts and sacrifices made 
and established by Washington during his two terms 



\ 



\ 



■(C^^./- 



as President prove his true patriotism, while his state 
papers are models of wisdom. He devoted his pay as 
Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary army, as also 
his salary as President, to the cause of education. He 
never drew a cent from the public Treasury for his 
services to the Nation. He never appointed a relative 
to any office, an example that might be followed by his 
successors with some benefit to the public service. 

It is true that Washington had his enemies, detrac- 
tors and even libelers among the Tories and the envious 
ones of the day ; but he outlived them all. They are 
forgotten, and their names and reputations are lost or 
are, at best, recorded only in the dusty tomes of old 
libraries and are scarcely ever referred to. There are 
few generals who have commanded large armies in the 
various nations of the world whose escutcheons are 
without a blemish. 

The Indian chiefs in the days of Washington had great 
respect for him and believed that he bore a charmed 
life. It is a recorded legend that an Indian chief fired 
a number of times direct at Washington ; after each 
shot he was particular in his aim, but he was unable to 
even wound him. 

When Washington was appointed Commander-in- 
Chief of the Revolutionary army and given his com- 
mission, he stood up in the Assembly to offer his 
thanks, but was unable to utter a'word. The Speaker 
came to his rescue and said: '*Sit down. Colonel 
Washington ; your modesty is °only equaled by your 
valor, and we have no language adequate to describe 



Sli 



either the one or the other." Washington was not an 
orator, yet his language was terse and plain, often 
eloquent and even poetical. He was a pleasant con- 
versationalist, very methodical and precise in his state- 
ments and sound in his conclusions. 

One of the General's most eflfective and telling 
speeches was made to the veterans of the American 
army, then quartered at Newburgh, N. Y., shortly 
before peace was declared. There was great dissatis- 
faction in the ranks because the soldiers could not get 
their pay, and also on account of a series of letters 
written and published by a Tory named Armstrong. 
When Washington stood up before the men he had 
often led to victory and sometimes followed in defeat, 
he began : " I have become gray, as you see, in your 
service," and then adjusting his spectacles, he added : 
"and almost blind in the service of our country." 
That was enough. Every soldier sprang to his feet 
and was ready to follow or obey his great commander. 
Washington was a man of genuine dignity. It was 
hardly possible for any person to approach him in an 
oif-hand or familiar manner. His presence was that of 
a grand, superior and dignified man. From the day he 
first took command of the army, to the hour his spirit 
took its flight to worlds beyond, he was the chief and 
important personage on all occasions and under all cir- 
cumstances. 

In battle he was the personification of the heroic sol- 
dier. Neither in the history of the classic Agamemnon, 
the great Alexander, Napoleon, nor among the heroes 



8 

of our era, can we find superiors in personal courage to 
Washington. At the battle of Monmouth, when the 
Americans wavered under the destructive fire of the 
British troops, Washington rushed to the front, repri- 
manded General Charles Lee and other American offi- 
cers in severe language, seized the Stars and Stripes, 
charged upon the enemy, drove them back and gained 
the day. At the battle of Harlem Plains, he not only 
led his soldiers against the enemy, but would have 
charged the British line alone in advance of his own 
troops had he not, as Commander-in-Chief, been per- 
suaded by his officers not to risk his life. 

When the eagles of victory perched on the American 
standard, and the last of the British troops were driven 
or departed from our shores, Washington journeyed east 
from Virginia, and on the 30th day of April, 1789, at 
Federal Hall, corner of Wall and Nassau streets. New 
York City, he established the Government of the Con- 
federation and Union of the Thirteen States and, as 
first President, he appointed John Adams, Vice Presi- 
dent ; Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State ; Alexander 
Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury ; Henry Knox, 
Secretary of War ; John Jay, Chief Justice of the Su- 
preme Court. After two successful terms as President, 
Washington retired to private life at Mount Vernon, a 
friend, not only to his countrymen, but to the human 
race ; respected, honored and loved by the civilized 
world. 

On December 14, 1799, at half-past ten o'clock in the 
evening, Washington died at Mount Vernon, after a 






few hours of great suflfering. There had been but 
little hope from the beginning of his illness, and he 
appeared to be perfectly conscious of his condition ; he 
spoke very little and with difficulty. His devoted wife 
was by his side ; also his secretary, Colonel Tobias 
Lear, and his two lifelong friends and physicians, Doc- 
tors Dick and Craik. The scenes at his bedside were 
plain, simple and sincere. Nothing was said or done 
to mar the solemnity of the occasion. There were no 
ceremonies of any kind to disturb the grief of those 
present. His last words were : " It is well." 

Washington's books, papers, letters, documents, and 
even his account books, were found to be in perfect 
order. Some time previous to his death he had given 
directions as to the disposition of his remains. His 
body was entombed at Mount Vernon, which has be- 
come the Mecca of the American people, and pilgrims 
from ever)' land come to pa}' tribute to the memory of 
the man who was justly named the " Father of His 
Countrj'. " 




-ii.,'-«: 



315 




HOUDON*S LIFE CAST-RIGHT SIDE 




Washington Ss S Mason, 



" So far as I am acquainted with the principles and 
doctrines of Freemasonry, I conceive thetn to be 
founded on benevolence and to be exercised only for 
the good of mankind." 

— George IVashingion, 1798. 



ON the 4tli of November, 1752, Major George Wash- 
ington was initiated in the rites of Masonry at 
Fredericksburg, Va., in Lodge No. 4. By special favor, 
and in consideration of his character, he was accepted 
before arriving at man's estate. In the record of that 
lodge is found this entry: "Received of Mr. George 
Washington for his entrance ^^2.3-6." On the 3d of 
March following he passed to Fellowcraft, and on the 
4th of August to Master Mason. To the end of his 
eventful life he was a devoted Mason. 

On December 27th, 1778, the Commander-in-Chief 
was present in Philadelphia at the Festival of St. John 
the Evangelist, and marched in the Masonic procession. 
In the sermon preached at Christ church on that day 
to the brethren, Brother Smith, D. D., referred to 
Washington as the " Cincinnatus of America." The 
following year Washington was one of sixty-eight 



12 

visiting brethren at the American Union Lodge, observ- 
ing the same festival at Morristown ; and in 1782 he 
celebrated the anniversary with King Solomon's Lodge, 
Poughkeepsie. The centenary of this event is com- 
memorated by a medal issued by the lodge. 

On October 13th, 1792, the corner-stone of the Execu- 
tive Mansion, familiarly called the "White House," 
was laid with Masonic and civic ceremonies upon the 
site selected by Washington. 

On September i8th, 1793, President Washington, as 
a Master Mason, marched with the Alexandria Lodge, 
No. 22, and assisted in laying the southeast corner-stone 
of the Capitol. On this occasion he wore the apron 
and regalia embroidered by the Marquise de Lafayette. 
The gavel used is preserved in Lodge No. 5, George- 
town, D. C. The centenary of this event was celebrated 
by the Government and by the citizens of the District 
of Columbia. 

On the 4th of April, 1797, Master Mason ex-President 
Washington attended a dinner given him by his own 
lodge in Alexandria, Va. This lodge is very rich in 
Washingtoniana, having an original portrait, the chair 
which he used as presiding officer and the regalia em- 
broidered by the nuns of Nantes. 

On the ist of January, 1800, in Philadelphia, a 
" Lodge of Sorrow " was held in memory of their be- 
loved brother, George Washington, by P Ami tie, a 
French lodge of Ancient York Masons. Simon Cliau- 
dron delivered an address, which was published in 
French and English and widely circulated. 



13 

On the 14th of December, 1899, the one hundredth 
anniversary of the death of Washington was celebrated 
by memorial services at the tomb of Washington at 
Mount Vernon, at which representatives of the Grand 
Lodges throughout the country took part. The origin 
of these centennial ceremonies was a suggestion made 
by the Grand Master of Colorado in September, 1893, 
which was promptly taken up and acted iipon by the 
fraternity at large, with the result that committees were 
appointed by all of the Grand Lodges, the end of which 
was not only the memorial exercises at the tomb, but 
ceremonies were held by the subordinate lodges at their 
rooms on that anniversary all over the country. The 
exercises at Mount Vernon were in charge of the Grand 
Lodge of Virginia. President McKinley made a suit- 
able address on that occasion. 

On Tuesday, November 4, 1902, at Philadelphia, will 
be held one of the most important and memorable cere- 
monies ever held in the Masonic order. The occasion 
will be the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth 
anniversary of the initiation of Washington in the rites 
of Masonry. Announcement has been made that Presi- 
dent Roosevelt has accepted the invitation of the Penn- 
sylvania Grand Lodge of Masons;on^that occasion and, 
without doubt, the rites will be most impressive, as well 
as interestine. 




3Si 




HOUDON'S LIFE CAST-LEFT SIDE 







The Houdon Life Cast. 

' Nature complimcEted herself when she created Washington." 

— Lafayette, 



IN the year 1783, the Virginia Legislature passed 
the following resolution : " That the Executive be 
requested to take measures for procuring a statue of 
General Washington, to be of the finest marble and 
best workmanship. ' ' 

Governor Harrison, a forefather of ex-President Har- 
rison, thereupon, on July 24, 1784, wrote to Thomas 
Jefferson, who then represented the United States in 
France, informing him that he had appointed him and 
his friend, Benjamin Franklin, our representative in 
England, to take the matter in charge, saying : " We 
have unanimously fixed on you and Dr. Franklin, who 
we all know are competent for the task. I therefore 
most earnestly request the favor of you to undertake it, 
to wit — to engage a sculptor for the work. ' ' 

On January 12, 1785, Mr. Jefferson wrote from Paris 
informing Governor Harrison that all arrangements 
had been made with the sculptor, Jeane Antoine 



16 

Houdoii, to execute the statue. M. Houdon was to re- 
ceive one thousand guineas, have his expenses paid and 
his life insured for twenty thousand livres. That was 
the contract. As Dr. Franklin was about to return to 
America, it was agreed that M. Houdon should accom- 
pany him. They arrived in Philadelphia about Sep- 
tember I, 1785. M. Houdon spent some time in that 
city and then, by easy stages, made his way to Mount 
Vernon, where he arrived, as will be seen by Washing- 
ton's diary, on October 3, 1785. 

Washington wrote from Mount Vernon to Franklin, 
who was still in Philadelphia, under date of Septem- 
ber 26, 1785, as follows : " When it suits M. Houdon 
to come hither I will accommodate him in the best 
manner I am able, and shall endeavor to render his stay 
as agreeable as I can." On the same day Washington 
wrote to M. Houdon and closed his letter as follows : 
" I wish the object of your mission had been more 
worthy of the masterly genius of the first statuary in 
Europe, for this you are represented to me. It will 
give me pleasure, sir, to welcome you to this, my seat 
of retirement, and whatever I have or can procure that 
is necessary to your purposes, or convenient and agree- 
able to your wishes, you must freely command, as in- 
clination to oblige you will be among the last things in 
which I shall be found deficient, either on your arrival 
or during your stay." 

M. Houdon remained at Mount Vernon two weeks. 
During that period he had ample time and opportunity 
to model studies of Washington and to make moulds in 






17 



plaster over Washington's head, neck and shoulders, 
which he did successfully. Among those present at 
Mt. Vernon when M. Houdon was there was the late 
Francis T. Brooke, one of the most distinguished of the 
presidents of the Court of Appeals, but having no 
prouder distinction than that of being the friend of 
Washington. He stated in the presence of General 
William H. Richardson, adjutant-general of Virginia, 
that " the statue in the Capitol of Virginia is an exact 
likeness of Washington as he then appeared." This 
statue was chiseled in marble after the life bust of 
Washington described herein. 

No higher authority than that of Judge Brooke can 
be adduced on the question of the likeness, because of 
his intimate knowledge of both the statue and the 
original. The Judge graphically said that, when the 
artist was about to engage in his work, there was 
announced a visitor who had imposed on the great 
General. Straightway on his grand countenance 
shone the flush, of the fire of the battle-field, and Hou- 
don cried out, in his explosive French fashion : " Oh ! 
If I could only catch that fierce, heroic look ! " But 
when, later, also in the presence of Judge Brooke, the 
plaster was applied for the life cast, the expression ob- 
tained, faithful to nature, was one of dignity, repose 
and nobility. 

Houdon, at that time, made two life masks over the 
head, neck and shoulders of Washington. One of 
them be used to mould the bust herein referred to, the 
other he took with him to France for use in com- 



Ca-O- 



i8 

pleting the statue of Washington ordered by the State 
of Virginia. He took this precaution fearing loss or 
injury to the mask he took with him, and leaving the 
bust at Mount Vernon as material for himself or a suc- 
cessor to use for a new statue in case of accident. 
M. Houdon successfully finished his statue, which was 
shipped to this country and erected in the quadrangle 
of the Capitol at Richmond, Va., in May, 1796. 

In "George Washington Day by Day" Elizabeth 
Bryant Johnston, an eminent authority on Washing- 
toniana, says: "Jean Antoine Houdon, the eminent 
French sculptor, made a life cast of Washington's 
head, which he left at Mount Vernon. This plaster, 
which happily was not taken to France, must forever 
remain undisputed the head of Washington. The 
beautiful portrait on the domestic letter stamp is after 
Houdon. From moulds, when in America, the artist 
produced the head from which he modeled the marble 
statue set up at Richmond, and that plaster is now in 
the ' Salle Houdon,' at the Louvre, Paris." The other 
plaster cast, the first and the original one, is that por- 
trayed and described in these pages. 

In this life bust all the delicate lines which give ex- 
pression to a face are reproduced with marvelous exact- 
ness, and the severe dignity, blended with a noble soft- 
ness, depicts the highest type of manly beauty, which 
was indisputably George Washington's. Nearly all the 
statues of Washington are the result of study of 
Houdon' s statue, but none in value and accuracy can 
equal this bust, cast from a mask taken direct from the 



19 

"living, animate flesh, illumined by the matchless 
mind and soul." 

No subject is more fruitful of error and misrepresen- 
tation than the effigies of the great and memorable. 
A certain gentleman in New York possesses no less 
than one hundred and five delineations of Washington, 
differing one from the other, although all of them bear 
some resemblance to the original. Hence the inesti- 
mable value of this bust, cast from the life mask, repro- 
ducing with such absolute fidelity the exact features 
and expression of the great General that Lafayette 
declared it to be "a fac-simile of Washington's person." 

This life bust, apart from its intrinsic value as the 
work of the greatest sculptor of his day, has a greatly- 
enhanced value as having been made by Houdon, under 
the happiest auspices, at the home of Washington at 
Mount Vernon, and because it is the original bust, made 
from the life mask of Washington by M. Houdon at 
that time. During this time the renowned sculptor 
and the President were inseparable, the latter afibrding 
the sculptor every opportunity and facility to become 
familiar with his features and expression, opportunities 
that were made the most of, as the bust so admirably 
shows. 

Plastic portraiture, cast from the life mask, is more 
acceptable than the result of any chisel, though it be 
in the hands of the most highly-endowed artist. The 
Houdon life cast is conceded to be the standard head of 
Washington. Recognizing this, the Government of the 
United States has placed the Houdon head upon its 



20 

postage stamps. As the standard head of Washington, 
it is presented for the close study of all who may be in- 
terested in the patriotic subject. If introduced gen- 
erally into the school, the library, the lodge room, the 
home, within one decade the people will become familiar 
with its strong lines, true as life, for the matrix, or 
mask, from which this bust was made, was moulded on 
the living features of Washington by the most distin- 
guished artist of his time, who was brought from 
France to this country by the State of Vil'ginia for the 
express purpose of making a life study of the great 
General. We are most fortunate not only in the artist 
but in the period that this portrait in plaster was 
secured. Washington was then in the prime of life, 
53 years old, just two years after the close of the 
Revolution, when this invaluable bust was made at his 
home at Mount Vernon in the Autumn of 1785. 

The personality of George Washington is a theme 
which has for many years engrossed the minds of the 
foremost sculptors, painters and literarians, and has but 
recently engaged the attention of the educators, as 
witness the simultaneous unveiling, on the 29th of 
January, 1902, in every public school in the Borough 
of Manhattan, City of New York, of colossal busts of 
George Washington. 

These colossal busts of Washington, one hundred 
and fifty in number, are designed to encourage patriot- 
ism and to impress upon the minds of the children the 
features of the immortal Washington. They were 
modeled by Wilson MacDonald, the oldest and one of 
the leading sculptors of America, and are enlargements 






21 

of the life bust of M. Houdon, heretofore described, 
and as before stated, made from the only life mask ever 
taken of Washington. This Houdon life bust is ac- 
cepted by all authorities as the standard of excellence 
in the faithful delineation of Washington, and was 
adopted by the United States Government for the por- 
traits in use on its printing and engraving. 

The idea of presenting these enlarged copies of M. 
Houdon's Washington originated at a dinner in Albany, 
when the subject of patriotism came up, and incident- 
ally reference was made to the excellent move in having 
the American flag displayed over every schoolhouse. 
Mr. Frank Tilford, of New York, who was present, be- 
lieving that children should be taught patriotism, as a 
means to that end suggested that it would be good to 
have a bust of the first President of the United States 
in the assembly rooms of the schools, and offered to 
present busts of Washington to the public schools of 
the Borough of Manhattan. 

Ever on the alert for an opportunity to inculcate the 
spirit of patriotism in the children of the public schools, 
Mr. Miles O'Brien, president of the Board of Education, 
hailed with delight the plan of Mr. Tilford to place a 
bust of " The Father of His Country " where it would 
constantly greet the eyes of the children and serve as a 
reminder and an inspiration, and it was not long after- 
ward that the Board of Education formally accepted 
the valuable, patriotic gift of Mr. Tilford. As before 
stated, the Houdon life bust herein described, was 
selected for the model. 

Of this head. Miss Elizabeth Bryant Johnston, author 






22 

of " The Original Portraits of Washington," and who 
is admitted to be the best authority on likenesses of 
Washington, says : " It is unquestionably the best 
portrait of Washington in existence. The artist spent 
two weeks at Mount Vernon and, upon leaving, gave 
this head to the family. All who have examined it 
agree that, as a portrait, it has no rival and as data is 
above valuation." Miss Johnston cites this entry from 
Washington's diary : " Sat to M. Houdon for my bust, 
October 12, 1785." Particular attention is called to 
this statement of Washington, for it proves conclusively 
that Houdon modeled Washington from life, and it 
may be impressively repeated that there was not a 
sculptor in America but M. Houdon who could model 
such a bust. 

Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Washington, from 
Paris, dated January 4, 1786, writes : " I have been 
honored with your letter of September 26, which was 
delivered to me by M. Houdon, who is safely returned. 
He has brought with him the mould of the face only, 
having left the other parts of the work with his work- 
man, to come by some other conveyance." 

As to the material which M. Houdon made at Mount 
Vernon and other facts, it is shown that Houdon un- 
doubtedly took all necessary measurements of Wash- 
ington's person ; he made a mould of his face and the 
upper part of his person ; he left this life bust at 
Mount Vernon and, in 1800, immediately after Wash- 
ington's death, it was inventoried and valued at $100 
by his executors. Washington says he sat for his bust ; 
there was not another artist in America at that time 






23 

who could have modeled such a bust ; Houdon left 
part of his material at Mount Vernon, saying that, in 
case the parts he had should become lost, there would 
still be sufficient material for him, or a successor, to 
continue the work. 

Mr. Clark Mills, the well-known American sculptor, 
in 1849, shortly after he obtained the commission from 
Congress to execute the equestrian statue of Washing- 
ton, went to Mount Vernon in search of material for 
his work. He found the life cast in the old library once 
occupied by Washington, the west room on the first 
floor of the mansion at Mount Vernon. He proposed 
to the owner of the estate, Mr. John A. Washington, 
who was a grandnephew of General Washington, to 
make a mould over the old cast, thus in case of acci- 
dent, saving the old head, and to leave two clean copies 
with his host, the said John A. Washington. This was 
acceded to, and Mr. Mills carried the old head to the 
City of Washington, where it remained in the posses- 
sion of Mr. Mills until 1873, wben he presented it to 
Mr. Wilson MacDonald, the sculptor, who was a com- 
petitor, among others, with Mr. Mills for the commis- 
sion given by Congress for the statue of Admiral Farra- 
gut. 

At that time Mr. Mills had the old head stored in a 
dark room under the dome of the Capitol at Washing- 
ton. Mr. Mills procured a candle and he and Mr. 
MacDonald descended to the dark room. There, on a 
mantel, stood the old head. Mr. Mills held the candle 
aloft and said : " You have always been friendly to me 
and, as our sentiments are about the same on certain 



24 

political, philosophical and religious matters, I want to 
present to you the original llife cast of Washington, 
made by Houdon at Mount Vernon, from life, in 1785. 
I am a pretty old man and will not model any more." 
Mr. MacDonald took possession of the old head then 
and there and carried it in his arms, not wishing to 
trust so precious a relic to the carelessness of others, to 
the residence of Mr. Samuel Ward, on E street. It was 
often seen there by Mr. Mills, who afterward wrote for Mr. 
MacDonald a letter of presentation . The bust was in 
the possession of Mr. MacDonald for more than twenty 
years and has since been in the keeping of the present 
holders. 

The old head itself is just as it came from the hands 
of the great sculptor, M. Houdon, except that it is dis- 
colored by the moulder when it was done in bronze by 
the late Clark Mills. 

M. Houdon, who died in 1828, left a reputation sur- 
passing all others of modern time as a portrait sculptor, 
his thorough knowledge of the proportions of the 
human figure and his intimate knowledge of anatomy 
equaling that of the greatest surgeons. The marvel- 
ous works that he has left show him to have been with- 
out a peer among his contemporaries and successors 
and, if he ever had an equal in the creative or imita- 
tive art, it was in the peerless Apelles alone. 

" Washington is, to my miud, the purest figure in history." 

— Gladstone. 




[We are indebted to Elizabeth Bryant Johnston for extracts and the beautiful 
head and tail pieces taken from her book "Georgfe Washington l>ay by Day."] 



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